As one of conventional techniques that control in-home devices (to be referred to as a “controlled device” hereinafter) through the Internet, a method of timer recording of TV programs in a video recorder which is a device to be controlled, from a terminal device such as a personal computer (PC) or a mobile telephone by using an electronic program guide (EPG) stored in a server which is connected to the network is known (for example, see JP 2001-145140 A).
In the above system, in order to make it possible to remotely control an in-home controlled device from a terminal at a remote place by using a browser function of the terminal, a WEB screen to be displayed on a terminal device in a server depending on a function held by the controlled device must be formed. For this purpose, each time a novel controlled device is developed, software in the server must be changed in accordance with the controlled device.
A conventional remote control system will be described by using FIG. 7.
A device 100 is a device that can be remote-controlled through a network, and as an example, a home video recording device is known. The device 100 includes a communication controller 101 which performs communication through the Internet, a device type number storage section 102 which stores a number representing a device type, and a device controller 103 which actually operates the device 100.
A server 110 includes a communication controller 112 which communicates with the Internet, a device data analyzer 114 which reads a number representing a device type from the device type number storage section 102 to generate WEB display data required for device control, a WEB display data generator 113 which forms WEB display data to be added to the WEB display data generated by the device data analyzer 114 and required for device control and completes a screen on which an internet service for arranging the appearance of a WEB display is performed, and a communication controller 111 which performs communication through the Internet.
A remote terminal 120 is a remote operation terminal such as a PC or a mobile telephone which displays a WEB (World Wide Web) by using a browser function and which performs an operation or inputting on the basis of the WEB screen. The remote terminal 120 includes a communication controller 121 for performing communication through the Internet, a WEB display section 122 for displaying a WEB screen, and an operation section 123 for performing an operation or inputting on the basis of the WEB screen.
In the remote control system, when the device 100 is controlled from a remote place by using the remote terminal 120, a user operates the device 100 while watching a screen displayed on the remote terminal 120 to designate the device 100. The device 100 is operated and controlled in accordance with an instruction of the user who operates the remote terminal 120. At this time, data (WEB display data) for displaying a screen displayed on the remote terminal 120 is generated by the WEB display data generator 113 of the server 110. In the WEB display data, display data unique to a device related to an operation of the device 100 is generated by the device data analyzer 114. The device data analyzer 114 reads a number representing a device type stored in the device 100 from the device type number storage section 102 through the Internet to generate display data depending on the device type.
The function of the server 110 is realized by executing a predetermined program. More specifically, the function of the device data analyzer 114 is also realized by executing a predetermined program. Conventionally, each process (step) depending on a device type is described in a program itself related to the function of the device data analyzer 114. More specifically, in the program, processes about all device types with which the server 110 can cope must be described in the program. For this reason, each time a novel device is developed, the entire program in the server must be changed in accordance with the device.
FIG. 8 shows a description example of an algorithm of the program described above.
A number which represents the device type and is read from the device type number storage section 102 is checked (S51). When the device type is “A”, a step related to the device type “A” is executed (S52). More specifically, an HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) data which designates a name “recording mode” as an item name to be displayed on the WEB is generated. An appropriate HTML text is generated to provide a display capable of selecting an option necessary for the item, such as “XP” or “SP”.
When the device type is “B”, a step related to the device item “B” is executed (S52). More specifically, a “recording mode” and a “recording media” are designated as item names, and an appropriate HTML text is generated to provide a display capable of displaying several options for each of the items.
As described above, information related to all the devices with which the server can cope is described in a program corresponding to the device data analyzer 114. For this purpose, when the number of devices or the number of functions of a device increases, new steps for the program must be added.
With the above configuration, the program of the server, in particular, a program corresponding to the device data analyzer must be changed each time a device having a new function is developed. For this reason, not only the controlled device but also the server must be developed and tested at once. This inhibits shortening of a development period or a reduction in development cost.